Modular rest surface

ABSTRACT

A modular rest surface has a base support member having a predetermined surface contour such as a flat or concave contour. One or more sections of resilient or rigid sections are mountable on the base support member or on top of each other. Each of the sections is provided with a surface contour which modifies the predetermined surface contour when the section or sections are fixed on the base support member. Connecting means, such as mechanical snap fasteners, are used to removably and interchangeably mount the section or sections on the base support member or on each other in a modular fashion. With such an arrangement, rest surfaces which selectively support various portions of a person&#39;&#39;s body, or relieve pressure therefrom, are possible. The present invention further facilitates the formation of novel rest surfaces which promote body circulation or which enhance and facilitate rest or recreational activities thereon.

United States Patent Gershbein Apr. 15, 1975 1 MODULAR REST SURFACE [76]Inventor: George Gershbein, 30 W. 69th St [57] ABSTRACT New York, NY.l0023 A modular rest surface has a base support member [22] Filed: Dec.13, 1973 having a predetermined surface contour such as aflat or concavecontour. One or more sections of resilient [2]] Appl. No.: 424,465 orrigid sections are mountable on the base support member or on top ofeach other. Each of the sections 52 us. (:1 5/357; 5/345 l f SurfaceContour whch the predetermined surface contour when the section or [51]Int. CL. A47c 27/00 Sections are fixed on th base Su on membe Con 58Field of Search 5/91, 345, 352, 357; h e h, I f 297/284 nectmg means,suc as mec amca snap asteners, are

used to removably and interchangeably mount the section or sections onthe base support member or on [56] References cued each other in amodular fashion. With such an ar- UNITED STATES PATENTS rangement, restsurfaces which selectively support var- 3 O38.l75 6/1962 Faget et al.5/345 R ious portions of a persons body, or relieve pressure 3-27934910/1966 Rfldkc 297/284 therefrom, are possible. The present inventionfurther 3526536 12/1971 5/345 R facilitates the formation of novel restsurfaces which 3,742.5..8 7/1973 Munch 5/345 R promote y circulation orwhich enhance and facili Primary Examiner--Paul R. Gilliam AssistantExaminer-Andrew M. Calvert tate rest or recreational activities thereon.

12 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures PATENTEDAPR 1 W5 3'. 877. 09s sum 2 gr: g

MODULAR REST SURFACE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present'inventiongenerally relates to body supporting devices. and more particularly to amodular rest surface which can be modified with facility to provide adesired upper surface contour to support or relieve pressure fromselected portions of a persons body.

Various lounge chairs. mattresses and beds and the like are known whichexhibit upper surface contours other than conventionally flat surfacecontours. Mattresses are known. for example. which are specificallydesigned for invalids or other clinical purposes. Typically. such amattress is moulded to follow the body contours of the person which itis to support. However. these mattresses have limited utility since oncethey are formed. they cannot be easily modified to serve otherfunctional uses.

Mattresses are also known which include one or more inserts whichtogether define a contoured upper surface. However. the mattresses ofthis type are formed by adhesively connecting the inserts to a basicflat surface. Accordingly. once the inserts are cemented. the mattressesassume the permanent surface contour configurations characteristic ofthe abovementioned molded body supporting devices.

The prior art devices of the general type under discussion do not havethe versatility of a modular construction contemplated by the presentinvention. Thus. beds utilized for hospital patients must be tailoredfor accomodating their particular conditions. By providing a restsurface which permits simple addition. deletion or rearrangement ofmodular sections. the rest surface assumes a universal nature which canbe altered at will to suit a particular patient. condition or use.

The rest surface of the present invention is also suitable for multiplepurposes outside of the clinical realm. For example. it is generallyaccepted that blood circulation is promoted and stresses on the heartare relieved when a person sleeps or rests with his middle body portiondisposed below the level of his head and leg portions. This portion isreadily achievable with the present invention by. for example. mountinga head and a foot supporting portion on a basic flat supporting member.thereby leaving the middle body portion unsupported. On the other hand.a physically handicapped person who may have difficulty in havingmarital relations can convert the same last-described bed to insteadsolely provide a middle body portion supporting section or module whichmay be of assistance in coping with this problem. The rest surface canthen be reverted to its optimum contour for sleeping purposes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION tion and which can be easily modified toprovide a desired upper surface contour.

It is yet another object to provide a rest surface of the type abovedescribed which includes a basic support member and one or more modularsections which can be stacked or mounted on the basic support member oron top of each other to selectively modify the contour of an upper restsurface.

It is a further object to provide a rest surface of the type underdiscussion which includes a basic support member. one or more modularsections. and connecting means which permits addition. deletion orrearrangement of the modular sections with great facility.

It is still a further object to provide a rest surface whose contour canbe easily and quickly modified to support selected portions of a humanbody or relieve pressure therefrom to make the same suitable. forexample. for hospital or other clinical uses.

It is yet a further object to provide a rest surface of the type abovesuggested which can be readily converted from a generally concavesleeping surface which promotes circulation and relieves pressure on theheart to a surface having a middle body portion supporting section whichmay be of assistance to a physically handicapped person in havingmarital relations.

In order to achieve the above objects. as well as other objects whichwill become apparent hereafter. the present invention for a rest surfacecomprises a base support member having a predetermined surface area contour. At least one modular section is provided which is adapted to bemounted on said base support member. The modular section has a surfacecontour which modifies said predetermined surface contour when thesection is mounted on said base support member. Connecting means isprovided for removably and interchangeably connecting the section tosaid base support member for fixing the former to the latter. In thismanner. a rest surface is provided which has a desired upper surfacecontour. Such a surface contour can be formed and modified byselectively positioning the section on said base support member andfixing the position thereof on the latter.

According to one presently preferred embodiment. said predeterminedsurface contour is circular and concave or dish-shaped. In anotherembodiment the surface is flat. Said connecting means is advantageouslyin the form of mechanical fastener means. The mechanical fastener meansmay. for example. comprise snap fastener means acting between said basesupport member and the section.

In many instances a plurality of sections are advantageously providedeach mounted on said base support member. The facility with whichsections are added. deleted and rearranged permits selective support ofbody portions or relief of pressure therefrom.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS With the above and additional objectsand advantages in view. as will hereinafter appear. this invention ofconnector means for releasably and interchangeably securing the modularsection to the rest surface;

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view of the rest surface and modular sectionshown in FIG. 1. taken along line 2 2 FIG. 3 is a top plan view of aflat rest surface in accordance with another embodiment of the presentinvention. showing head and leg modular supporting sections mounted onthe rest surface:

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of the rest surface and modularsections shown in FIG. 3. taken along line 4-4;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmented view of a portion of the rest surfaceshown in FIG. 4. showing the details of the mechanical snap fastenermeans utilized to releasably and interchangeably fix the modular supportsections to the rest surface;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view ofa universal module including an upperportion which can be cut to provide a desired upper surface contour anda lower support and connecting portion forming part of the snap fastenermeans shown in FIG. 5'.

FIG. 7 is a schematic representation ofa rest surface. shown in a sideelevational view. provided with head and leg supporting modular sectionssimilar to those shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. the resulting surface contourbeing especially suitable for lowering the middle portion of a person'sbody relative to his head and leg portions to relieve pressure on theheart and promote blood circulation;

FIG. 8 is similar to FIG. 7, further showing an arm support modularsection extending between and to one side of the head and leg supportingmodular sections;

FIG. 9 is a similar to FIGS. 7 and 8. but showing modular supportsections spaced from one another to selectively provide a gaptherebetween to relieve pressure from an intermediate body portion; and

FIG. 10 is similar to FIGS. 7-9. but showing an intermediate bodysupport modular section projecting from the rest surface and suitablefor exercise and recreation purposes.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawings.in which identical or similar parts are designated by the same referencenumerals throughout. and first referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a firstembodiment of a presently preferred rest surface is generally designatedby the reference numeral I0. The rest surface I0 is defined by a basicupper surface 12, which is shown to be circular and concave. Mounted onthe upper surface 12 is an elongate foot supporting section 14 which hasa triangular cross section as shown in FIG. 2. An important feature ofthe present invention is the modular versatility with which bodysupporting sections may be added. deleted and rearranged. as will befurther described in connection with FIGS. 7-10.

The basic upper surface 12 is shown in FIG. 2 to be formed of a layer orsheet of material 16 which is provided with an array oftransverse holes18. The layer 16 may be made of a foam material or other soft material.However. the layer 16 may also be made from a rigid or hard material inwhich case a soft cushioning material may be used to cover the same (notshown) to increase the comfort to a person reposing thereon.

When the layer 16 is made of a non-rigid material. a rigid sheet 20 isadvantageously provided which maintains the desired contour of the basicupper surface 12. The rigid sheet 20 is. according to a presentlypreferred embodiment. provided with an array of holes 22 which arecoextensive or aligned with the array of holes 18. The holes I8 and 22form part of a mechanical snap fastener means to be more fully describedin connection with FIG. 5.

In FIGS. 3 and 4 a rest surface is shown which includes a flat basicsurface 42. The flat surface is modifled by the addition of a modularhead supporting section 44 and a modular foot supporting section 46. Thesection 44 has a single inclined surface while the section 46 has twoinclined surfaces. A central portion of the basic flat surface is leftexposed. Clearly. the effective contour of the rest surface 40 is notunlike that of the rest surface I0. In each case a person 30. shown indashed outline in FIG. 2, can rest or sleep with his midportion disposedat a level generally below that of the rest of his body. Such a positionis frequently desirable and is believed to promote blood circulation andrelieve pressure on heart. This is achieved by promoting the flow ofbody fluids away from the region of the heart and towards the centralbody portion. It has also been established that the position shown inFIG. 2 is a comfortable one for the average individual. The rest surfaceupper contours also encourage a person to repose on his back since bothrest surfaces I0 and 40 exhibit generally concave characteristics. Thus.both rest surfaces I0 and 40 are helpful when a person must sleep on hisback for medical reasons.

Still refering to FIGS. 1-4. it will be noted that very similar uppercontours can be obtained by selectively choosing first a basic uppersurface and second choosing the upper surface contours of one or moreappropriately positioned modular sections. Thus. the head is supporteddirectly by the arcuate surface 12 of the rest surface I0 while thesection 44 supports the head in the rest surface 40.

The basic flat surface 42 is formed by a flat perforated layer or sheetof material 48 provided with an array of holes I8 as suggested above.When the layer 48 is made of soft. resilient material and as foamedelastomeric plastic. a rigid supporting sheet 20 is provided asdescribed above. When snap fastener means is used. as to be described.an array of holes 22 is formed in the rigid sheet to align with thearray of holes in the flat layer or cushion 48. While the rest surfacescan be placed directly on a floor. they can be disposed above the floorby suitable legs such as 50 shown in FIG. 4 or in an other conventionalmanner.

In one presently preferred embodiment the layers 16. 48 and the modularsections are soft to enhance the comfort of the person resting thereon.In this case. the rigid sheets 20 maintain the contours of the basicsurfaces. However. the layers 16, 48 and sections I4. 44 and 46 can alsobe made of wood. metal or plastic. In the latter instance. the rigidsheets 20 may be optional and a soft covering (not shown) may beprovided to make the resulting rest surfaces more comfortable.

As suggested above. an important feature of the present invention is themodular approach of mounting one or more sections on a basic restsurface. Unlike the prior art comparable devices. the contoured sectionsof the present invention are intended to be mounted on. removed from andinterchanged or rearranged on a basic rest surface with great facility.To this end. a wide variety of connecting means may be utilized at theintcrfaces between the basic surfaces and the modular sections.

One possible type of connecting means is shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, withthe details thereof being shown in FIG. 5. The type of connecting meansto be described is in the general form of a mechanical snap fastener.However. this type of connecting means is by way of illustration onlyand any other conventional and suitable connecting means may be used forthis purpose.

Referring to the FIGS.. the modular sections are provided with bottomsurfaces which are complementary to the basic surfaces so that thesections can be matingly mounted on the latter. Extending from thebottom surfaces of the sections are one or. preferably. more rods orextensions 24 which are each provided with enlarged or bulbous ends 26.As best depicted in FIG. 5. the extensions 24 are dimensioned to passthrough the holes 18. The enlarged ends 26 are also intended to passthrough the holes 18 without undue interference. This is readilyachieved when the perforated layers 16 or 48 are made from a resilientand expandable material such as foam plastic. However. in this instance.the enlarged ends 26-are dimensioned to include a transverse crosssectional diameter greater than the diameters of the holes 22. Wheneither or both the enlarged ends and the rigid sheet 20 are somewhatflexible or yielding. the enlarged ends can be forced through the holes22 with attendant temporary deformation of the former or the latter. Tofacilitate entry. the enlarged ends can be provided with leading tapersat the free ends thereof. as shown in FIG. 5. Once the enlarged ends areforced or snapped through the holes 22, the sections become fixed inposition on the basic support layers.

When the modular sections are made of a relatively rigid material. therods or extensions 24 may be integrally formed therewith and directlydepend therefrom. However. when the modular sections are made from asoft. yielding material. it may be necessary to provide a rigid layer orsheet connected by conventional means to the bottom surfaces of themodular sections. The extensions 24 may then depend from this rigidlayer or sheet. The arrangement above described for the connecting meansis particularly useful when the basic surface layers are made of a soft,yielding material. The advantage of the connecting means of the typeunder discussion is that the portions of the basic surfaces which remainexposed continue to exhibit the soft characteristics while being adaptedto cooperate with a modular section to fix the latter in position.Clearly, if a soft upper basic surface is not deemed necessary. the theperforated layers I6 and 48 can be deleted and shorter pins orextensions 24 can be directly urged through the holes 22 in the rigidsheets 20.

A modular section made of a soft material provided with a rigid underlayer or sheet is shown in FIG. 6. Here. a basic modular foam section isgenerally designated by the reference numeral 52. A rigid base or underlayer or sheet 54 is provided from which the pins or extensions 24depend. Any suitable number of pins 24 with enlarged ends 26 may beprovided. The section 52 is provided with four pins 24 arranged in asquare array and spaced to be receivable in holes 18 and 22.

As suggested above. and as will become apparent from the descriptionthat follows. the modular sections contemplated by the present inventioncan have any lengths. widths or upper contour surfases desired. Suchmodular sections may be made in standard and assorted sizes toaccomodate different requirements or uses. These sections may also bemade from soft and hard or rigid materials. However. the presentinvention also contemplates the use of basic modular sections which canhave their upper surface contours altered prior to or subsequent tobeing mounted on a basic surface layer. For example. the section 52 canbe made from a soft foam plastic material and is shown in the generalshape of a cube. Since modular sections may be required to exhibit. forexample. inclined or arcuate upper surfaces. the section 52 can beeasily cut. such as along cutting lines 56. to provide an inclined uppersurface. The cutting may be accomplished by an conventional means. suchas by use of a hot wire or cutting blade. The provision of such basicmodular sections alleviates the need to preform an excessive number ofdifferent modules. permits the formation of intricate upper surfacecontours and permits modules to be custom made for particularly criticalapplications. How ever. it is pointed out that the use of basic modulesections does not detract from the versatility that the basic system orprinciple of the present invention offers. Whether preformed or custommade. the modules can be easily mounted on. removed from and rearrangedon the basic surface layers.

In this connection. it is pointed out that the present invention can becarried out when the above-described snap fastener arrangement isreplaced by any other suitable connecting means. For example. any othermechanical fastener means which permits the sections to be easilyconnected to and disconnected from a basic surface layer can also beused. The use of magnetic materials or the surface adhesion propertiesof some materials is also possible.

FIGS. 7-10 are illustrative of the type of upper surface contours whichare readily achievable with the rest surfaces of the present invention.The rest surfaces are shown in schematic and. in each view. thereferance numeral represents the basic support member or surface whichis flat and corresponds to the layer 48. In FIG. 7. an inclined headsupporting section 62 and a doubly inclined foot supporting section areprovided. This results in an arcuate type rest surface similar to thosedescribed in connection with FIGS. 1-4. As mentioned at that point. thiscontour lowers the mid-section of a person's body relative to the restof his body. This is a confortable position which is believed to promoteblood circulation and relieve pressure on the heart.

The rest surface shown in FIG. 8 is similar to that in FIG. 7 with theexception that the head supporting section 62a is spaced from the footsupporting section 6411. Additionally. an arm supporting section 66 isprovided extending between and to one side of the sections 62a and 64a.The arm supporting section 66 projects above the basic support member 60to maintain an arm of a reclining person at a desired elevation.

In FIG. 9, a head supporting section '68 is shown which is provided witha horizontal upper surface. A

foot supporting section is provided which is spaced from the section 68and is likewise provided with a horizontal upper surface. The sections68 and 70 are spaced to result in a gap or space 72 which can beselectively positioned to relieve pressure from any desired portion of ahuman body. In this respect. the rest surface shown in FIG. 9 differsfrom those shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 wherein the modular sections arearranged to primarily support portions of a human body. The embodimentshown in FIG. 9 is particularly suitable for relieving pressure fromsensitive body portions which. for example. may be healing wounds. Whilethe gap 72 is formed in a substantially horizontal surface formed by thesections 68 and 70., it should be clear that such gaps may be formed inany desired upper contour or surface. such as those shown in FIGS. 1-4.7 and 8.

A further feature ofthe present invention is shown in FIG. 9, wherein ahead supporting section 62b is fixed on the section 68. Accordingly. itis contemplated that an overall upper surface contour of a rest surfacecan be formed not only by stacking or mounting modular sections on abasic surface layer but stacking such modular sections on top of eachother. This substantially enhances the versatility of the presentinvention and the ability to quickly and easily form simple or complexrest surface contours. in this connection. the same or differentconnecting means can be utilized to connect modular sections to eachother as the connecting means utilized to connect the modular sectionsto the basic surface layers. as suggested above.

A further embodiment of a rest surface in accordance to the presentinvention is shown in FIG. 10., wherein an intermediate body supportingor elevating modular section 74 is provided. the section exhibiting aninclined surface 76. In addition to being suitable for resting andsleeping. the subject rest surfaces can also be used for exercise andrecreation.

As should be evident from the FIGS. and the above description. thecombination of a basic rest surface. one or more modular sections andsuitable connecting means for connecting the latter to the former in amanner which permits easy separation and rearrangement ofthe sections isan improvement over presently known contoured mattresses and the like.With the present combination. it should be clear that any of the restsurfaces shown in FIGS. 7-10, for example. can be easily and quicklyconverted to any of the other rest surfaces by replacing and rearrangingone or more of the modular sections. y The specific shapes or dimensionsof the basic surfaces or of the modular sections are not critical andany shapes or dimensions suitable for a particular application may beused for either one.

Numerous alterations of the structure herein disclosed will suggestthemselves to those skilled in the art. However. it is to be understoodthat the present disclosure relates to preferred embodiments of theinvention which are for illustration only and are not to be construed aslimitations of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A rest surface comprising a base support member having apredetermined surface contour; at least one three-dimensional sectionhaving a base surface which conforms to said predetermined surfacecontour and which projects above said base surface an amount comparableto the linear dimensions of the latter. said at least one section beingmountable on any portion of said predetermined surface contour on saidbase support member and having an upper surface contour which modifiessaid predetermined surface contour when said at least one section ismounted on said base support member; and connecting means for removablyand interchangably.connecting said at least one section to any portionof said predetermined surface contour of said base support member forfixing the former to the latter. whereby a rest surface having a desiredupper surface contour can be formed and modified at will by selectivelypositioning said at least one section on any portion of saidpredetermined surface contour of said base support member and fixing theposition thereof on the latter.

2. A rest surface as defined in claim I, wherein said predeterminedsurface contour is arcuate.

3. A rest surface as defined in claim 2. wherein said surface contour isconcave.

4. A rest surface as defined in claim 1. wherein said connecting meanscomprises mechanical fastener means.

5. A rest surface as defined in claim 4, wherein said mechanicalfastener means comprises a plurality of apertures in said base supportmember. and extensions having enlarged ends configured to releasablysnapinto said apertures when extended through the latter.

6. A rest surface as defined in claim 1, wherein a plurality of sectionsare provided each mounted on said base support member.

7. A rest surface as defined in claim 6, wherein a first section isprovided for supporting a users head. and a second section is providedfor supporting the user's feet. whereby the central portion of the usersbody is maintained at a level lower than that of the head and feet.

8. A rest surface as defined in claim 6. wherein a first section isprovided for supporting a portion of a user's body. and a second sectionis provided for supporting another portion'of the user's body proximateto the first mentioned body portion. said sections being spaced toprovide a gap therebetween to relieve pressure from a portion of theusers body intermediate the two supported portions.

9. A rest surface as defined in claim 1, wherein said at least onesection is mounted centrally of said base support member to support themid-section of a user's body.

10. A rest surface as defined in claim 1, wherein a plurality ofsections are provided. and further comprising additional connectingmeans for releasably and interchangeably connecting one section toanother sec tion. whereby variously contoured sections may be stackedone on top of another to form a desired overall upper rest surface.

11. A rest surface as defined in claim 1, wherein said at least onesection is made of a material which can be cut. whereby said at leastone section can be cut to provide a desired contour prior or subsequentto being mounted on said base support member.

12. A rest surface as defined in claim ll, wherein said material is afoamed elastomeric material.

1. A rest surface comprising a base support member having apredetermined surface contour; at least one three-dimensional sectionhaving a base surface which conforms to said predetermined surfacecontour and which projects above said base surface an amount comparableto the linear dimensions of the latter, said at least one section beingmountable on any portion of said predetermined surface contour on saidbase support member and having an upper surface contour which modifiessaid predetermined surface contour when said at least one section ismounted on said base support member; and connecting means for removablyand interchangably connecting said at least one section to any portionof said predetermined surface contour of said base support member forfixing the former to the latter, whereby a rest surface having a desiredupper surface contour can be formed and modified at will by selectivelypositioning said at least one section on any portion of saidpredetermined surface contour of said base support member and fixing theposition thereof on the latter.
 2. A rest surface as defined in claim 1,wherein said predetermined surface contour is arcuate.
 3. A rest surfaceas defined in claim 2, wherein said surface contour is concave.
 4. Arest surface as defined in claim 1, wherein said connecting meanscomprises mechanical fastener means.
 5. A rest surface as defined inclaim 4, wherein said mechanical fastener means comprises a plurality ofapertures in said base support member, and extensions having enlargedends configured to releasably snap into said apertures when extendedthrough the latter.
 6. A rest surface as defined in claim 1, wherein aplurality of sections are provided each mounted on said base supportmember.
 7. A rest surface as defined in claim 6, wherein a first sectionis provided for supporting a user''s head, and a second section isprovided for supporting the user''s feet, whereby the central portion ofthe user''s body is maintained at a level lower than that of the headand feet.
 8. A rest surface as defined in claim 6, wherein a firstsection is provided for supporting a portion of a user''s body, and asecond section is provided for supporting another portion of the user''sbody proximate to the first mentioned body portion, said sections beingspaced to provide a gap therebetween to relieve pressure from a portionof the user''s body intermediate the two supported portions.
 9. A restsurface as defined in claim 1, wherein said at least one section ismounted centrally of said base support member to support the mid-sectionof a user''s body.
 10. A rest surface as defined in claim 1, wherein aplurality of sections are provided, and further comprising additionalconnecting means for releasably and interchangeably connecting onesection to another section, whereby variously contoured sections may bestacked one on top of another to form a desired overall upper restsurface.
 11. A rest surface as defined in claim 1, wherein said at leastone section is made of a material which can be cut, whereby said atleast one section can be cut to provide a desired contour prior orsubsequent to being mounted on said base support member.
 12. A restsurface as defined in claim 11, wherein said material is a foamedelastomeric material.